Packet loss occurs when one or more packets of data traveling across a computer network fail to reach their destination. Packet loss can be caused by a number of factors including signal degradation over the network medium due to multi-path fading, packet drop due to channel congestion, corrupted packets rejected in-transit, faulty networking hardware, faulty network drivers or normal routing routines. Packet loss rates hover around 1-2% of all packets transmitted. Recovery from a loss often involves detection of a loss at the receiver, communicating that loss to the sender, and re-transmitting the packet data. In such cases, the recovery of the lost data may be significantly delayed, in proportion to the end-to-end round trip time. This problem is routinely exacerbated in transmission protocols such as TCP where in-order-delivery requires that all packets after the lost packet be similarly delayed (pending arrival of the lost packet). It would be advantageous if the network response to lost packets could be improved, and the delay to re-transmit a lost packet decreased.